The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-11-30
NEW YORK LETTER.
UNPLEASANT Effects Of the Recent Order Of the
Postmaster General.
ga Rabble of Dudss"-General Sherman
theatrical Dinners-A Surgeon and
Fashion i'm Surgery.
specia. sentinel New York Letter.
NEW YORK, November 25, 1885,


Office Department is little understood by
the newspapers of the country, or else
there would be q clamor for its repeal. /
spoke to Murat Halstead, of the Cincin-
natl Commercial. Gazette, concerning it
and found he had not heard Of it, but in
stantly became suspicious that there was
some political intrigue possibly concealed
in so stupid an order. Irefer to the one
directing the charging of letter postage on
papers, circulars, etc, on the wrappers or
envelopes of which Improper printing
appears, and defining improper printing"
to be, not obscene, mind you. but any
printed word or pen or pencil mark other
than the address Of the person to whom
sent and the return address of the sender.
IL there appears, to illustrate, on the en-
VelOpe of John Smith the announcement
that he is grocer" letter postage must
be paid by the receiver. II your mailing
clerk makes on a wrapper any figure to de-
note the number OF papers, or, in fact,
anything, except the address and date of
expiration of subscription, the subscribe
must pay letter postage for the paper, al
though you have already paid the legal
rate for third rate matter. That is rather
calculated to brighten subscribers for next
year.
AS regards circulars, it is estimated that
this inconsiderate order has cost merchants
in this city already s., 900, 900 by the loss
of printed matter. II notice of few
weeks had been given this loss would not
have been felt-might have been avoided;
but practically 10 notice at all was given.
A few papers published the order
in obscure corners; the last Official
Guide, published since the order
was issued, contained no allusion TO it,
and my copy for the Guide was addressed
in violation OF the new order. The first
merchants generally heard of the order
was when large quantities of matter were
returned to them marked IS Improper
printing" OF course they lost not only
the printing but the postage stamps al
ready on the envelopes, unless they chose
to pay the additional heavy charge as let
ter postage The way il affects newspapers
Is different, as the newspapers are paid in
advance by weight, and the new tax falls
on the subscriber. Three copies of the
Commercial Gazette, OF Cincinnati, adj
dressed to me had the words three copies"
printed under my address, and | was
charged 90 cents for what was no advan-
tage 10 me, was convenience of the Com
meTclal.Gi zette Office, and was information
for The postal authorizes only. Five Troy
Budgets for the same reason were detained
for AZ cents. a Nashville American pack
age happened to be wrapped in part of an
cid exchange, but for that reason twenty
fvel cents was demanded, and 1 was
shown that on part OF the wrapper was
the printed advertisement of some boot
and shoe store in some country town. Sew
eral papers have been detained because
the date of subscription as well as date OF
expiration was printed thereon. A pack
age of Boston Heralds, ten in number,
was held because the mail clerk had mark
ed an X to indicate the number which the
package contained. Worse still, y cents
was demanded because the mail clerk had
written the word Email" on the wrap
per solely to indicate that package of ten
Boston Globes were to go by mail and not
by express. When it was explained That
this word wss'used solely for the conven-
fence of the Herald, the demand was not
insisted on. OF course you can readily see
that this foolish order is directly against
the interests of publishers of newspapers,
and must have been issued by some person
wholly ignorant of the machinery of q
newspaper Office. The New York Office
has been almost blocked up with newspa-
pers refused by those OF whom letter post
sge was demanded. This order and the
law authorizing it ought to be repealed at
once.
The decadence of the dude in this city
has been very rapid, and may now be said
TO be complete with the rejection and
overthrow OF Robert Hilliard, the dude act
or, by Mrs. Langtry, the dudess actress.
The dandy" of former period was
COZ tent with his own admiration OF him.
self. The "masher," who follows the dan
dy, was happy in the smiles Of any girl he
casually met; but the latest development
Of the thingamy, the "dude", insists on
public alteration and newspaper notoriety.
| f. Berry Wall, once the "king OF the
| dudes, " Is now wine opener for Dee Ber-
ry & Co., and has been quite successful in
| convincing his acquaintance of a fact
quite patent to ali connoiSseurs that Main
ner's wines are the best in the market. It
1 does not require much talent to argue this,
| but il probably taxes Wallis genius to do
/ 1t. Fred. Gerhard, another rich New
Yorker, who, unlike Wall, is still rich, has
| been brought into prominence as a dude
| by his friendship for Mrs. Langtry. He is
/ q tall, thin, but athletic young man, with
\ q dull, expressionless, Dutch countenance.
friend of his who sat next to him one
night at a private dress rehearsal of Gas
| in a Locking Glass" tells me Gerhard
talked of nothing but Mrs. Langtry's new
dress es and his own horses. Robert Hill
/ lard, whom Gerhard has, with Mrs. Lang
| try's aid, utterly demolished both as an
actor snd as a dude, recently endeavored
| to rival the dandy Berry Wall, and the
Sun made considerable fun of both of
/ them. de is young fellow who imagined
he was handsome and believed he could
| act, and left q good position in Wall street
TO act and to manage a theater. he failed
in the misunderstanding; he got temporary
employ ment in small parts in one or two
companies, aud finally condescended for a
small stipend to play walking gentle
man" in Mrs. LaDgtry's new play. Ac-
cording to her story he tried to mash"
her, but she wouldn't have ii, and gave
him notice. Hilliard, therefore, picked q
! quarrel with Gerhard; wrote him demand
ing satisfaction or an apology for
some fancied offense to his wife. Gebhard
| contented himself with replying in a
coldly contemptuous note, denying the in.
suit. and thereupon Hilliard rushed into
| print with what he called an explanati
but which was practically an apology, and
which left the reader to infer that be
wife. And for the life of him he cannot
see that he has made himself ridiculous
and probably put an end to his theatrical
career.
"a RabbIe of Dudes lie the wav q
brother of Fred. Gsbhard calls the New
York Club, from which he has Just been
expelled. The circumstances have beer
sent you as news, but some OF them have
been carefully suppressed. Colonel Geb
hard, il appears, years ago was OF thai
genus of the dandy known as "masher,
and, according to the evidence in the di
voice case of Charlotte a. Nichols against
her husband, and in the papers submitted
| IN fha oourf a., IN pffork IN diqhar Col0na